Thursday, December 18, 2008

I’ve often thought that the early death of Robert E. Howard is one of the great tragedies of American literature. Howard committed suicide in 1936 at the age of 30.

Prolific, gifted and, driven, Howard’s work has been admired by Lovecraft and King. It’s possible this author altered the course of macabre writing. Some of his characters will perhaps be better known to you than the author himself: Conan the Cimmerian, Kull of Atlantis, Solomon Kane and Bran Mak Morn all sprung from Howard’s fevered imagination.

The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard (Del Rey) collects the very best of Howard’s work (including the seminal “Pigeons from Hell”) making this a great gift for fans and students of the macabre. Insomniacs ought to avoid this one like the plague.